Killing Time
by Sanity-Stealing-Lawn-Gnome
Summary: There was a virus in the time travel machine...sending the group back in time, far back, making them forget everything. Its up to Aelita to help them remember before something terrible happens and X.A.N.A. succeeds in his plans. U&Y, slight A&J. R&R pleas


A/N: Ok, I'm doing this out of sheer boredom, I had this idea, and I've used it in a way before, but this time, I'm changing a few things. And I am thinking about doing a series of one-shots instead of some chapter stories, because as you can tell, if I don't, then it'll take me forever to finish it! Ok, onto the story. (It's going to be slightly confusing in the beginning, but as you keep reading you'll understand what's going on. -)

_Disclaimer: Nope don't own crap. _

_The sounds, so many sounds all around her. The trees whistling the wind, the mud under her feet, her black hair whipped wildly against her face as she turned to find the source of all the sounds._

"Show yourself now!"

Silence, nothing, not a sound. Turning, she fled further into the woods, into the deep, dark woods. Looking back behind her, she saw the glint of metal, quickly chasing her. Looking foreword again, her foot caught on a hidden root, causing her to trip and fall onto the hard ground. Using her lower arm she quickly tried to stand up. Just as she stood, she fell back over due to the throbbing pain of her ankle. Lightly, the girl touched her ankle, finding it already beginning to swell.

'_No, not now. Its too late, its all over, at this point I'm already dead.' The girl said as she felt the hot tears beginning to race down her pale cheeks. 'I was a fool to trust him, to….begin to fall for him..'_

_This whole thing had started that one day…..that one day when he just showed up at the palace for that stupid job offer. _

_It was a stormy night as a lone person stood outside the palace gates. His long cloak covering his body and his face hiding him from any passing eyes. A piece of paper was clutched tightly in his hand. Bringing it back up to his face, he read it over once more. _

_Bodyguard wanted to protect princess from killer assassin. _

_The perfect way to get close, the perfect way to finish his job. Looking up, he gazed at the large gates before quickly pushing them open, lighting flashing in the distance behind him. _

"But daddy, I don't want a body guard, I can take care of myself!" A teenaged girl complained to an older man. Her black hair was brushed to one side, and her long robes were that of the royal family. The sound of thunder reached her ears as it echoed loudly through the grand room.

"That's what you think now Yumi, but when you come face-to-face with one of these assassins, you'll see just how powerless you are." The older man said with a sigh.

"I'm going to bed now daddy, goodnight!" Yumi quickly turned her heel and stomped out of the room slamming the door behind her.

"What am I going to do honey, she hates me." A woman stepped out of the shadows; her robes were also that of the royal family, which would make her the queen. She quickly took a seat beside her husband.

"Don't worry dear, she'll come to realize you are doing everything in her best interest." The woman laid her hand on the older man's arm in an effort to comfort him.

A young woman with bright pink hair peeked around the corner, her outfit matching the outfit of one of the palace maids, a simple long pink dress.

'Something bad is going to happen, I have to stop it.'

Turning around, the pink haired girl caught sight of Yumi storming to her room. Stepping out of the way, she quickly stepped into the hallway shadows to avoid being noticed, or questioned as to her reason for being out in the hallway. The girl waited until Yumi was around the corner before stepping out.

BANG!

The girl cringed at the sound of the loud wooden door banging against the wooden framing. Grabbing the bottom of her long dress she quickly and quietly approached the door, pressing her ear against it to hear what was being said.

She heard sobs, as if someone was crying but why?

The minute Yumi entered her room, she jumped on the bed, and pressing her face into her pillow letting her tears flow. Standing up, she quickly kicked off her shoes and placed them beside her bed.

"I refuse to go to France and marry some know it all prince!" Yumi said as began to throw things left and right out of her wardrobe searching for something. "Now where is that stupid thing!"

Looking up, she realized that she had been searching in the wrong place. Kneeling down she quickly yanked what appeared to be a long black cloth.

Quickly she wrapped it around herself, concealing her and who she was. "I need to go talk to Odd, and now."

'_Odd!' _The girl quickly pulled her ear away from the door at the sound of the name. That made two down, and still two to go.

'_You'll never succeed Aelita, history will be re-written, and nothing will stop me in the future!' _

The pink haired girl, Aelita, quickly clutched her head in pain as the voice suddenly stopped, leaving just the sound of her ragged breathing.

"That's what you think X.A.N.A." Aelita whispered angrily as she saw the doorknob turn. She looked around wildly for a place to hide, doing a dive; she quickly rolled around the corner. Holding her breath for fear that Yumi would hear; she waited until Yumi was out of site to stand up. Grabbing the bottom of her dress once again, she took pursuit.

Yumi quickly wrapped her cloak closer as the freezing wind and rain chilled her body.

The garden…..the most beautiful place in the palace.

Looking around, she spotted a familiar path that lead straight into one of the palaces high stonewalls. Stepping along, she felt the eyes of someone watching her; she scared herself by stepping on a fallen twig. She began to move along quicker until she saw the towering wall in front of her. Her pale hands reached out to touch the cold, wet stone. Stepping up, she quickly found hand holes and climbed up, jumping over and landing on the hard ground on the other side. Turning around, she made sure no one had seen her, and began to race into the glowing town.

_A person sat, crouched high above the ground in a tree, right in the center of the garden. An evil grin pulled at his lips as he eagerly fingered the hilt of his sword. It wouldn't be long now…._

Aelita quickly walked into the lively town, she had quickly decided to change into something other than her maid outfit. She had lost sight of Yumi only a few moments beforehand. Looking around, she quickly caught sight of something black heading into a club. Bingo. The club itself looked lively from the outside, but when Aelita stepped inside, she found it be almost empty. Looking around, she spotted Yumi sitting in a far corner at a table meant for two. Aelita watched as Yumi looked around at all of the other people in the bar, which were mostly drunks who would never recognize her anyway.

Yumi brought her pale hands up to her hood, and slipped it off. Standing up, she walked up to the bar to talk to the brown haired young man who was cleaning dishes behind it.

"Hey Theo, do you know where Odd is?" Yumi asked as the young man looked up from his job.

"Yah, he stepped out for a second, said something about having a bad feeling. He should be back soon though, so you can wait for him if you like."

"Thanks." Yumi said as she returned to her seat, looking around she spotted a pink haired girl she hadn't seen before, staring more closely she began to get the feeling that she had seen this girl before, but where? Her thoughts however were brought back to the doors when they opened, revealing a young man, his bright yellow hair was matted down near his face due to the rain, and a bright purple spot could barely be seen.

"Odd! You're soaking wet!"

"Thanks for pointing that out Theo, oh, and by the way, it's raining outside." Odd said as Theo threw him a dry towel, which he used to wipe his face dry. Looking up, he spotted Yumi in the far corner, wrapping the towel around his shoulders; he made his way over to her.

Aelita had managed to make her way close enough to listen in on the two. Looking over to the bar, she found Theo staring at her; she quickly took a small sip of the ice water in front of her so that she wouldn't look suspicious. Theo went back to trying to get some of the drunks to leave the bar.

"So, what's new Yumi?" Odd asked as he sat across from her, tossing the towel into the middle of the table.

"Did you hear what they're doing to me?" Yumi asked hurriedly, looking around to make sure no one was listening in on her.

"Yah, aren't they sending you across the sea to France to marry the guy…prince…..um…?"

"Jeremie." Yumi finished lamely. Aelita sat up a little at Jeremie's name, so that's where he was. So that meant that she only needed to find Ulrich, which would make up the gang. But this was way to easy…..X.A.N.A. had them right where he wanted them, but why was he making it so easy?

"Did you also hear that my dad's looking for a body guard for me? He thinks I cant fight for myself." Yumi said as she flicked a few strands of her black her out of her face.

"Yah, well, its only till they catch the assassin guy whose out to get you." Odd said reasonably as he tried to re-style his limp hair.

"Look Odd, it's getting late, so I need to get back before my parents figure out that I'm gone." Yumi pushed her chair out and began to stand, after planting her feet firmly on the ground, she quickly pushed the chair back in.

"Nice seeing you again Yumi." Odd stood up along side her.

"You too Odd." Yumi said as she embraced the shorter boy in a hug before letting go. She lifted her hood over her head, once again covering her face. Aelita watched as she left, walking in the pouring rain. Standing up, Aelita walked briskly past Odd, her arm brushing against his for only a brief second as she left the same way Yumi had.

Odd looked up as he touched the spot where Aelita had just touched him. Suddenly, searing pain shot through his head, lifting his hands, he quickly clutched the sides of his temple.

Pictures….Images…...they were flashing through his head before finally coming together to create a small movie.

'Aelita, I have an idea, follow me.' Odd saw…..himself….and the pink haired girl who had brushed against him only moments before, they were running from something. Sand and dust was flying all around them as they raced in front a large…..bowling ball looking thing.

As they neared a large ridge, the girl began to speak as she covered her face from all the flying dust around them, 'Odd, you're crazy!'

Suddenly, Odd was brought back to reality when he felt Theo's hand on his should. "Are you alright Odd?"

"Yah, I'm fine, I….just need to rest." Odd said as he struggled to stand, placing his hand on the wooden floor beneath him. 'What was that I saw? A memory perhaps, but why did it only happen when I touched where that girl had touched me?'

Placing a hand on Theo's shoulder, he quickly balanced himself and began to stand, once he was on both feet and had let go of Theo, he turned, looking Theo in the face. "Sorry, Theo, I really need to have some think time, do mind if I take the rest of the night off?"

"Nah, go ahead, it's almost closing time anyway." Theo said as he gave Odd a pat on the back and made his way behind the bar.

Odd slowly made his way to a staircase in the corner of the room, he moved sluggishly up the stairs and to his room. He jumped onto the bed and landed with a thump, landing face down. Man did his head hurt so badly. Turning on his side, he kicked off his shoes and cuddled under his purple blanket.

Yumi walked quietly and slowly down the hall. Her rain soaked cloak left small drips as she walked. Coming to her room, she slowly opened her door, it let out a loud creak, walking in, she quickly untied her cloak, allowing it to fall into a large mass on the floor. Her clothes clung tightly to her thin frame; she shivered as she noticed the window had come open. Looking around, Yumi went on full alert, not noticing anything different, she quickly brushed off the thought and pushed the windows shut, when she tried to lock it, she realized that the lock was broken. Shaking it off as something she would address tomorrow, she quickly changed in dry clothes and slide into her warm bed, allowing sleep to overtake her.

The window opened quickly as lightning flashed outside, lighting up the sky as a shadow dropped into the room. Looking around, the figure quickly spotted Yumi sleeping on her bed. The sheets were rising and falling with every breath she took. Walking over, the figure towered over her, looking her up and down. His eyes rested on her relaxed face. She was much more beautiful then he would have ever thought. To bad he had to kill her, it would be such a waste. 

With the flick of his thumb, he unsheathed his sword. Bringing it up, he put it close to her neck. But just as he did, his head began to throb, like it was telling him he would regret it. However, as soon he drew his sword away from her, it stopped. He quickly re-sheathed his sword, stepping away from Yumi's sleeping form. This would have to wait, trusting his instincts that told him this wasn't the right time, the figure made his way out of the window, leaping to the ground.

"It appears that you'll live to see another day princess, but your day will come to meet your fate."

The sun shone brightly through Yumi's open window, lighting up the room. Yumi opened her eyes at the small knock that had been coming through her door. Sitting up, Yumi tried rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she slowly made her way to the door. Yumi quickly pushed it open to reveal a girl with black hair and red highlights.

"Morning princess, his majesty requests your presence at the training grounds." The girl said as she bowed in front of her.

"Thanks Sam, you may tell my father that I shall be out soon." Yumi said as she began to think to herself….._ 'Unfortunately' _

"Very well." With that, Yumi closed the door and began to change into her royal robes. Quickly brushing her hair so she at least looked presentable, Yumi walked towards the door, kicking her cloak under her bed once more. Walking down the hallway she turned the corner, descending down a staircase at the end of the hall, she found herself in a large courtyard, used for training.

"Ah, so my daughter has finally arrived!" Yumi's father said as the small crowd of people on the grounds turned to face her.

"Good morning father." Yumi said briskly as she took her normal seat, her father, noting the bitterness in her voice decided to get underway.

Yumi looked out to see three young men out on the training ground, obviously here to try for the position of bodyguard. The one who caught her attention most was the one who wore a hood over his face, making it impossible to even tell his expression.

"The three of you have undertaken many tests, and this is the final one. You shall fight each other, the winner will have the honor of becoming my daughters personal bodyguard."

Soon enough the fight had started, and in a flash, it was over. Yumi stared in disbelief, they hadn't even been fighting for 30 seconds, yet the mystery man stood, towering above the others, who were both unconscious. Yumi turned when she heard her father begin to clap. Looking over, she spotted him stand.

"Congratulations. You are far better than I could have ever hoped." Yumi's father looked at her, as if to see her opinion, instead of looking at him back, she crossed her arms across her chest in a bored manner. "Now, will you do us the honor of removing your hood so we may look at the face of my newest employee."

"Of course your highness, it would be my pleasure." With that, Yumi saw his hand raise to the front of his hood, slipping it off, and letting it rest against his back. Yumi gasped as she caught sight of him, he couldn't have been any older than she was, and his brown hair fell lightly across his forehead, he was quite handsome actually.

Yumi felt his gaze on her, thinking quickly, she quickly moved her gaze back down to the dirty ground. Yumi looked up as her father had begun to make his way onto the field. Yumi leaned in and tried to listen in on what the two were saying, although she already knew it was impossible. Yumi spotted the two of them looking at her, she quickly looked down once again.

"Very well, I agree." Yumi heard her father's voice as the two began to come towards her. Oh boy, this wasn't going to turn out good, not good at all.

"Yumi, I want you to meet Ulrich, he will now be accompanying the room beside yours." Yumi's father explained as Yumi stood up to greet him. Ulrich gave a polite bow and lifted his head, making eye contact with her. Yumi couldn't stop staring….those eyes….she knew those eyes, but from where? The connection was however broken when her father begun to call her name.

"Yumi, I want you to show Ulrich to his room, then explain to him everything he would need to know while he stayed here." Yumi's father said as he looked at her.

'_I need to find out more about him. I know those eyes from somewhere, but I don't know where.' _Yumi thought to herself as she looked at Ulrich again. "Alright daddy, I will."

Yumi's father gave a small smile to his daughter as she walked past, her robes dragging on the ground behind her, Ulrich quickly followed.

Aelita looked down from the balcony she stood on. The wind had made it very hard to see anything below, but she had made out a figure clad in black and another in a tan color making their way into the massive structure Yumi called home.

Making her way down the spiraling staircase and down the long empty hallway, her shoes making a loud CLICK noise as she ran. She almost ran past the hallway they would be in, until she heard voices coming her way. Sliding to a stop, she quickly ducked into a shadow, though it didn't help much due to the brightness of her outfit. She glanced back around the corner to see the two approaching.

'_Its Ulrich!' _ Aelita thought to herself, she had found the missing piece to the puzzle.

Aelita tuned in once again as Yumi began to speak.

"This is my room, and don't you DARE try and sneak a peek!" Yumi said as she pointed to the door in front of them.

"Don't worry." Ulrich said simply as he began to move on down to the next door.

"And this is your room." Yumi said as opened to door to reveal a large, spacious room. "Dinner's at sunset so don't be late."

With that, Yumi left Ulrich his own business, closing the door as she left. Ulrich heard the door beside him slam as it closed. Quickly looking around, Ulrich made his way to the window. Gazing down to the grassy ground below, he guessed it would be about a 30-foot drop. He'd never make it. Then again, stealth was his specialty. Undoing his cloak, he quickly threw it onto the large bed in the center of the room.

Ulrich opened the door and peeked his head out, finding everything clear; he stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Aelita looked around. Nothing… the coast was clear. Standing up, she quickly dusted off she bottom of her dress. Taking a step foreword, she went to turn the corner, only to run into something. Looking up, she saw Ulrich staring at her.

"Um…." Aelita stuttered for an excuse as to her reason for being out in the hallway.

"Please excuse me." Ulrich said as he walked around her, turning the corner, and disappearing from sight. Aelita gave a sigh of relief, but where was Ulrich headed? It was time to do some following. And if X.A.N.A. had something going on, it was going to be between those two.

Ulrich had slipped past the guards and was heading into the town. Thoughts were clouding his head.

'_That princess… there's something special about her. My heart started to race when I talked to her, maybe I knew her in a past life? Who knows, but I know that I have a job to finish, wither I know her or not.' _ Ulrich thought to himself as he stopped in front of the telegram office.

Walking in, Ulrich walked up to the counter, and waited patiently for the person in front of him.

"Thank you, come again." The man behind the counter said as he handed a large stack of papers to the man in front of Ulrich. "And how may I help you sir?"

Ulrich stepped up the counter, placing his elbow on it. "Do you have any telegrams for a person with the last name Stern?"

"Um….allow me to check." The man behind the counter quickly disappeared into a back room, returning a few minutes later, with one lone letter.

"Here you are sir, have a nice day." The man said as he handed Ulrich the letter, quickly walking back into the back room, avoiding Ulrich's gaze.

Ulrich grinned as he clasped the letter tightly and walked out of the small place and back out into the busy streets. Lifting the seal on the letter, he slipped it out and leaned his face close to read it.

'_Stern,_

_You're doing very well. I want the princess dead by tomorrow night. And don't forget to enjoy yourself. Your payment will soon follow once you've finished your job.'_

And that was all it said. It wasn't signed, just like the last one he had gotten before. But who cared, killing was his job, for as long as he could remember. Ulrich crumpled up the letter and threw it into a nearby burn bin.

Aelita watched as Ulrich headed back up towards the castle. Looking both ways to make sure that no one was looking particularly at her, she made a dash to where she had seen Ulrich throw out something. Looking down into the rusting bin, she found the lone piece of paper. Carefully smoothing it out so she could read it, she quickly scanned it over. Clasping a hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp, she quickly put the pieces together.

If Ulrich killed Yumi, then the future would be ruined. Yumi would be gone forever. X.A.N.A. knew just what he was doing. Looking up, Aelita began to realize that the sun was already beginning to set, leaving long red streaks across the sky. One-day…..she had one day to stop Ulrich and save Yumi.

Yumi walked silently down the hallway. Her parents had requested her presence once again; apparently they had something important they wanted to show her. Swinging open the large doors, Yumi stepped into the large room she had been in only last night with her father. Looking around, she noticed some unfamiliar faces. Such as the man her father was speaking with, or the boy who was beside him.

"Ah, so you have arrived at last, come here Yumi, there are some people here I would like you to meet." Yumi's father beckoned her over to him. Seeing as there were guests in the room, Yumi couldn't argue, so, obeying her father, she made her way too him.

"So this is the beautiful princess that I have heard so much about!" The man beside her father exclaimed as she walked foreword.

"Yumi, I'd like you to meet your future husband and his father Prince Jeremie!" Yumi's father exclaimed as Yumi looked horrified. She looked from her father back to the blonde haired boy in front of her. Life sucks.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you princess." Jeremie said with a small bow.

"No." Yumi said defiantly.

"WHAT!" Yumi's father said, outraged.

"I said no, I've put up with this long enough." Yumi said as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned to face the wall behind her, refusing to turn around.

Jeremie reached foreword, placing his hand on her shoulder in hope that it would at least calm her down a bit. But the moment Yumi felt his hand on her shoulder, a searing pain shot through her head. Crying out in pain, she clutched her head as she sank to the floor. Jeremie bent down beside her to see if she was ok.

_RING RING!_

_Yumi's phone buzzed where it sat on top of her alarm clock. _

"_Come on Yumi get up we really need you." Jeremie said as Yumi picked up her phone._

_Looking over at the clock she saw it was 2:30…AM_

"_Do you realize what time it is…..bulldozers….what bulldozers….WHAT?"_

Yumi continued to clutch her head, even after the pain had stopped. She noticed that her breathing had become fast paced, but was beginning to slow down and return to normal. Forcing herself up, she began to stand, facing the trio of males.

"If you would please excuse me, I would like to go lay down for a while, good night." Yumi bowed slightly and walked out of the room. The older men looked at each other and shrugged shoulders, but Jeremie wanted to know just what was going on. Excusing himself, he stepped into the large hallway in hopes to find which way Yumi had gone. There was something so familiar about her, but what?

Yumi made her was down the hallway, her hands resting on her forehead, it hurt so bad. Looking up, she saw someone coming towards her, but her vision was blurry. Yumi reached her hand out, bracing herself against the wall. She felt someone's hand on her arm, looking up, she tried to see who it was, but her eyes became even mistier. The hand on her shoulder only intensified her pain. She faintly heard a voice calling out as her knees buckled and darkness consumed her.

Odd awoke with a start to find his pillow damp and his covers thrown across the room. He grimaced, realizing the wetness was his own drool. The nightmare that had disturbed him faded away to the point where he could only remember that it left a strong feeling of Déjà vu behind it.

Looking towards the window, he figured that it was about noon, judging by the position of the sun. He was about to get out of bed for a little breakfast/lunch when he noticed something different. There, on the wall by the window, was a circular object. Numbers lined the outside of it, and three small rods stuck out from a smaller circle in the middle. The smallest black rod was close to the twelve at the top of the circle, while the longest black rod pointed closest to the eleven. The red rod circled the object in a steady rhythm.

Odd had never seen one of these things before. He was about to go over and examine it when he heard an ear-piercing scream. Startled, he quickly hurried to the window. Below was gathered a large crowd. In the center was a young girl with long black hair and an entirely too high hairline. Talk about premature balding.

"Oh, It's just Sissy. She's such a drama queen." And with that he proceeded down the stairs in search of something to cure his munchie problem.

Sissy Botch was presently screaming her head off in public while her friends tried to pretend they didn't know her.

"Oh my gosh! He broke my nail! I can't believe you broke my nail! You are SO going to pay for this!" she yelled at a poor, unfortunate man who had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He coward in fear at her wrath.

"Come on Sissy. It's nothing, it'll grow back. Let's go, before your father gets angry at us for being late again." Her friend Kandace said as she pulled her away from the large crowd that had gathered. Reluctantly, Sissy let herself be drug away.

"I can't wait until fathers party tonight. Nicholas is going to be there. I have a feeling that he's going to ask to start courting me soon. Ah, he's so handsome!" Sissy gushed.

"Isn't princess Yumi going to be attending?" Kandace asked. Sissy's expression darkened at the mention of the girl's name.

" Unfortunately." She spat, hatred evident in her voice. "That little tramp is always trying to steal Nicholas away from me. I won't let her win! Nicholas will be mine, no matter what the cost!" She let out a purely evil laugh that caused passer-bys to back up a few feet in fear.

"Um…..right." Kandace said with a sigh.

Yumi's eyes slowly opened, refocusing the once blurry images. Slowly sitting up, she looked around. This was her room, but how did she get here? All she could remember was someone calling her name, but she couldn't remember, or even put together who's voice it was. What was that she saw before she passed out? Those images……Ulrich was in there, but why? Had she known him before? Something freaky was going on around here. Not to add the fact that the prince seemed very familiar to her, as well as her bodyguard, and that girl from the bar……not to mention the fact that Odd had seemed familiar as well when she first met him.

Sliding out of the bed, she placed her feet on the cold floor. Once again familiar patter of rain was coming from outside the windows. She shuffled to the mirror, looking at her reflection. She looked like crap. A loud growl filled the room as she looked down at her stomach. Food…..a necessity, and something she hadn't had in a while. Grasping her hair with her hand, she pulled it up, at least making herself decent enough to walk the halls. Ignoring everything else messy about herself, she opened the door and made her way down the poorly lit hallways.

Ulrich's sword glinted in the candlelight as he unsheathed it, setting it on the table. That room he was given was too large, so he had made himself comfortable in the small kitchen. But he had other thoughts on his mind…..like why the princess had collapsed in the hallway. Thank goodness she couldn't tell it was him, even when he had subconsciously called her name. Doing helpful things for the person he was supposed to be killing wasn't something he did often.

'_Why did she pass out, she looked fine earlier…..but then again…..why do I care……its not like it'll matter soon anyway.'_ Ulrich grinned at the last part of his thought. He turned back to his sword and was about to finish checking it over when the sound of soft feet coming his way caught his ears. He stood still and watched as the door slowly began to open.

Making a dive for the counter, he looked back up to see that he had left his sword sitting on the table. Nuts. Not enough time to grab it without being noticed. Glancing up to see who it was that had come into the kitchen, especially since it was so late at night. And there she was, in all her glory…..Yumi.

Yumi let out a yawn as she made her way to the icebox. Lifting the lid, she grabbed the first thing she could reach. Desert…..homemade ice-cream. Reaching into a drawer, she quickly grabbed a spoon….ok, so ice-cream wasn't the greatest thing to be eating especially this late at night. Jumping up, she sat on the clean counters, jamming the spoon into the ice-cream and began to eat it.

Finishing up the cold treat, Yumi decide to make her way towards the armory. Maybe a little late night practice would wear her out enough so that she could get at least a few hours of sleep, which would be needed for the fact that she HAD to attend that stupid…..thing tomorrow evening.

When she reached the armory, Yumi lit the torches around the room and picked out the sturdiest looking sword. Her hands gripping onto the hilt, the silver metal flashing only dimly as she readied herself. She focused all her concentration on herself and the weapon in her heads, blocking out the rest of the world. With graceful and well-practiced ease Yumi moved around the room. She swiped and stabbed at an enemy only she could see, blocking all the phantom attacks thrown at her.

Ulrich peeked over the counter top. Nothing, no one was around….just the empty ice-cream cartoon Yumi had left lying there. Lucky for him it had been too dark to for Yumi to see his own sword on the table. Standing up, he quickly walked over, grabbing it by the hilt, and re-sheathing it, swiftly and quietly. Time to go see what kind of weapons these people possessed. Then again….why bother, he could beat anything they threw at him anyway.

'_Might as well go look…..maybe I can find something good at take as a…..souvenir.' _ Ulrich grinned at his own little thought. Placing a hand on the door, he quickly opened it, following the path that Yumi had just taken not too long before hand.

The early morning grass outside the castle had already become dewy, folded under Ulrich's feet as he made his way to the decent sized building just outside. In arm length reaching distance to the door, Ulrich found it slightly open, and a glow was coming from inside, as were the sound of feet against a hard floor. Ulrich slightly began to unsheathed his sword as he opened the door slowly.

The sound of metal against metal caused Yumi to open her eyes, leaving her invisible friends to only the back of her mind. Looking up, she found Ulrich staring at her from the end of his own sword. Oops…..

Yumi quickly pulled back her sword, her face red with embarrassment. _'That's it, no more late night sword practicing…..' _ Yumi thought to herself as an uneasy silence filled the room, her gaze had turned once again to the dark and filthy ground.

"So I see you practice swords." Ulrich said, breaking the tension in the room. Yumi looked up and nodded her answer. "Want to fight?"

"What?" Yumi asked with a shocked expression…._ 'Me? Fight Him? He defended my attack like it was nothing last time, and I didn't even know he was there.' _

"I'll go easy on you, I just want to see your skills." Ulrich said simply as he raised his sword into fighting position. Yumi nodded, not knowing what to say, raising her own sword.

Yumi saw only the glint of Ulrich's blade as he lunged at her, letting out a sound of surprise; Yumi closed her eyes and put her own sword up in defense. She slowly opened her eyes, doing her best to keep her sword steady as it clashed with Ulrich's.

"Come on, I know you can do better than that." Ulrich said with a smug grin. _'At least give me a little bit of a challenge.'_

Yumi gritted her teeth as she used her strength to push Ulrich away from her. This time, she took the foreword and raced at Ulrich. Left, right, a side swing….nothing, he just brushed off everything she threw at him. Okay, maybe her father was right about her needing a bodyguard. Not that she'd ever admit that to anyone other than herself.

Yumi stepped back, her breathing was heavy, but she still stood ready to fight. Ulrich took another lunge at her as she stepped back, tripping on something she must have knocked down during her little sparing moment with herself, she feel back with a small thud. Not a second later, she felt the weight of something press against herself, forcing her flat onto the ground. Afraid to open her eyes for fear of it being what she thought it was on top on her, she opened them very slowly, and there, red faced with embarrassment, was Ulrich. Yumi felt like her heart was going to come out of her chest; she felt the heat rising in her own cheeks.

Ulrich's mind was running wild. _'Alright, just calmly get off and it'll all pass of as an accident. Right….great plan. Hey….HEY! No! Stop moving closer…no no no…..bad…..'_

But no matter what Ulrich's mind said, his body had a different idea of this matter and nothing Ulrich's mind could say would change that. And strangely, it felt like the right thing too do.

Then again…..Yumi's mind was freaking out just as much. _'Ok, now I'll just slide out from underneath him, no harm…no foul, right. Hey…HEY! Why are you leaning closer…..stop it! Stop stop….' _

But just like Ulrich, Yumi couldn't seem to control herself as she leaned up closer, closing her eyes. Closer….and closer….until the moment was shattered.

Both Yumi and Ulrich stopped where they were as both of their heads began to pound. The same images flooded both of their heads, causing each of them to cry out in pain.

_Ulrich quickly pulled Yumi back from over the edge as Aelita raced to the tower. She had to hurry or the others might be deleted forever. Time was like a pounding drum as Yumi clutched onto Ulrich and looked at him. It was like magic as the two began to lean closer to each other. Aelita was reaching the top floor of the tower. _

_Closer and Closer_

_Aelita placed her hand on the control as the words Code Lyoko appeared_

_So close….they could feel each other breathing. _

_Jeremie's voice filled the air as the password was accepted. "RETURN TO THE PAST NOW!" _

_They were so close…yet it never happened. _

Yumi finally released the death grip she had on her forehead, she looked up to see that Ulrich had done the same, and was staring at her intently. _Oh boy, another one of those bad feelings._

"So….I believe I have spent enough time outside for the evening….or, I mean, early morning, and finally made myself tired enough to sleep, so I'm going to bed…..goodnight." Yumi said as she quickly as she walked past Ulrich, quickly, avoiding his gaze.

With a shrug of the shoulders, Ulrich quickly followed, closing the door behind him. Looking up, he noticed the dark sky had cleared and the stars were twinkling brightly in the black sky. Ulrich quickly turned back to facing the path in front of him and made his way back into the castle.

Jeremie stood on his balcony, looking into the night sky. He couldn't sleep…but that was nothing new. He had thoughts of wanting to call out to someone, but he never could figure out who. Letting out a sigh, he turned back and walked into the room he had been given. The princess didn't want to marry him that was for sure. But for some reason, that fact really didn't bother him that much though. She didn't really seem like his type of girl anyway.

Looking back to the bed, he noticed something that hadn't been there when he went out onto the balcony. A black, square object was on his bed. Strange. Walking over he quickly began to examine it, picking it up, he looked at the bottom, then back at the top. Noticing that it could be lifted, he quickly opened it, revealing a large black screen. He looked around for a way to turn it on and see what it did, when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You have to press the button on the top to turn it on."

Jeremie turned around to see Aelita standing there smiling at him. Aelita knew how fake her smile had to have looked, in truth, her heart ached at the fact that the boy she had grown so fond of didn't even remember who she was. But maybe, hopefully, she would be able to at least remember a little bit about her, at least enough to help her stop Ulrich.

"You look….familiar, have I met you before." Jeremie asked as he cocked an eyebrow, searching his memory bank.

Aelita's heart flooded with joy, he remembered her….well….a little anyway, but it was a start. "You have, but you don't remember. Jeremie, I need your help, please."

"What do you mean?" Jeremie asked, completely ignoring the fact that she hadn't been formal with him.

"Yumi's in danger, you have to remember Jeremie, you have too. I cant stop him alone…..I need help….your help." Aelita pleaded as she felt a streak of water race down her cheeks. Unaware of what it is, she was about to reach up and find out, that was until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her body. Jeremie's arms. Feeling comforted, she closed her eyes and rested against him.

Jeremie, having no idea of how to handle a girl, had done the first thing that came to mind. She seemed so familiar, and he had automatically felt drawn to her, wanting to help her with whatever her problem was. Only problem was….how?

Yumi leaned against her door as she silently closed it, sinking to the floor, her heart pounding. Something was beyond wrong here, it was obvious that she knew Ulrich from some place. And it defiantly wasn't another life. He seemed to remember her as well. But why couldn't see remember it all…..what happened to make her forget? Forcing herself to stand, Yumi made her way to the bed, collapsing automatically into a dreamless sleep.

Ulrich paced in his own room, bored out of his mind. Nothing was going to happen….nothing exciting anyway. But as he paced more thoughts of what he had seen earlier crossed his mind. Like what the heck was going on around here. Why did he get strange feelings whenever he was around the princess. These thoughts however were lost when the sound of feet from below him, on the ground reached his ears. Looking down through the open window, he spotted a small band of people, thinking their dark clothing hid them, lurking around the castle grounds. Time for a little fun.

"Come on, we have to find a way in before the guard comes back!" One of the men said as the others had gathered around him. Gazing up towards the open sky, he caught the flutter of a curtain fluttering out an open window. Perfect. "Never mind, I've located an entrance."

The three others around him looked up to where he was staring. "But…isn't that a little high?" One of them asked as they looked back towards their leader.

"Nope, now take out those ropes with the hooks on the end." He said as he watched the others pull out what he had asked for. "Now throw them up, and try to get them hooked onto the window sill." Doing as instructed, each had successfully latched onto the open window, but only after a few tries. Taking the lead, the leader climbed quickly up as the others followed him.

The leader quickly waited for his eyes to adjust before examining the room he had just invaded. Looking to the bed, he tried to make out who it was sleeping on it. Black hair…girl…..in the castle…..must be the princess. After the others had entered the room, the leader turned to face the others, signaling them to the door. The princess wasn't what they had come for, then again, in a way she was.

The leaders hand reached out to grab the door knob, but just as he was about to grab it, it swung open, and he looked cross eyed at the blade of a sword, almost touching the tip of his nose. The other two had become still from the shock.

"You know, if you leave now, I just might let you get how sleep deprived I am right now." Ulrich said lazily as he looked to the person on the opposite end of his sword.

"You know Herb, we might want to do what he says." One of the others said, finally able to overcome his shock.

"Shut up Nicolas, I'm trying to think." Herb said as he turned to the other two. "Milly, Tamia, I want you too to go back and tell the others that this mission is unfinished."

"Yes Herb." The other two said quietly as they stepped back, not wanting to turn for fear of what might happen. Ulrich turned his gaze back to herb, who was staring at him, actually, he was glaring at him…whatever.

"So are planning on leaving, because I would like at least a few hours of sleep before I need to be awake again." Ulrich said with a yawn. _'After all…it's a big day tomorrow.' _Ulrich thought as he subconsciously turned to face the sleeping girl who hadn't even flinched from her position.

Herb was trying to figure out what he wanted to do. Sissy had wanted them to get some dirt on the princess, but this was a problem. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a scream. Looking towards the window, he spotted the hook slowly beginning to slide off the window. Milly and Tamia!

Ulrich yawned as he watched Herb and Nicolas race towards the window. He was about to turn away, but his body wouldn't let him. _'What is going on? Why cant I move my body….its like it has a mind of its own…..' _He felt himself racing towards the window, grabbing onto the rope and pulling it up quickly. Soon enough, the two girls were safely back on the floor.

"Thank you so much!" The two girls said together as they looked at Ulrich.

With another yawn, Ulrich replied to them, "Yah, whatever, now can you leave!"

The four were about to reply, when the movement of a certain, once sleeping person, was seen. Yumi sat up and looked around. Sleep was about to overtake her again when she looked around for what was making noise in the first place.

"Oh Ulrich, its only you, go to bed, its late." Yumi said as she fell back onto the bed with a small thud.

Ulrich raised an eyebrow as he turned back to the others, holding his sword, he pointed to the door as he began to speak. "Down the hall, to the left, and down the stairs. Now go, and if you come back or decide not to leave, I'm going to kill you without a second thought. Got that."

"Yah, yah, we're leaving." Nicolas said for the four of them as they made their way out the door. With a sigh, Ulrich quickly sheathed his sword, making his way out the door, slowly closing it behind him. Making his way to his own room, he quickly threw his sword on the folded cloak and jumped onto the bed. Sleep quickly overtaking him.

Yumi awoke to pounding at her door and the sun shinning in her face. Never again would she ever stay out that late again. Pulling herself away from her thoughts, the pounding on door had increased.

"Yumi! You had better open this door right now!"

Yumi went to stand and ended up falling out of the bed, wrapping the blanket around her, she made her way to the door, tripping a few times along the way.

She quickly opened it, yelling at whoever it was who had interrupted her beauty sleep. "WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Bad move, opening her eyes she found not one, but a group of people at her door. _'Oh boy…..lets see…..my dad, the prince, his dad, and Ulrich. Not good.' _

"Yumi, when you have become…..presentable…..then join us for breakfast out in the garden." Yumi's father said as he looked at her sternly. Yumi nodded and closed the door, breathing out slowly. Time to get ready…..

The garden was looking as beautiful as ever when Yumi walked out. Then again, the fact that she had made a total moron out of herself this morning still hadn't left her mind. Spotting her father talking to the others, she quickly made her way out towards them. Ulrich was laughing at something that had been said…..how come he was so awake…..she could probably fall asleep standing right about now.

"Yumi, how nice of you to join us." Yumi's mother said as she finally noticed Yumi's presence, ushering her over to them. Walking over, she quickly sat in the chair, avoiding any of the four males gaze. Conversation continued as it was before Yumi had made her appearance, and it wasn't until she realized someone had been talking to her that she looked up from the plate of food that had been placed in front of her at one point or another.

"Yumi darling, have you seen your dress for tonight?" Yumi's mother asked as the attention was brought to Yumi, who had a confused look on her face. "I'll take that as a no."

The males of the group went on with their own conversation as Yumi's mother began to talk to her. "Look Yumi, I know you don't want to go through with this marriage. And I know that I was the same way when first met your father, but now I realize it was the right choice, and I love him with all my heart. Please give Jeremie a chance, I know he doesn't seem like much now, but please promise you'll try."

Yumi looked back and fourth between Jeremie, who was talking with Ulrich, to her mother, and slowly nodded a yes as she closed her eyes…this was going to be a long day. Right now however…sleep sounded so good, excusing herself from the table, she made her way to her own room, diving into the bed, and snuggling into the pillow and falling into a light slumber.

Jeremie was walking back to his own room, thinking to himself about what had happened last night_. That girl….Aelita…that was her name. She tried to explain to me about a place called Lyoko….and when I didn't get it, she tried to show me with that thing she called a laptop. All of it seemed to ring a bell, but I couldn't put it all together. But the reason I had really tuned in was the fact that Yumi was going to assassinated….and we had to stop that from happening. Not to mention the fact that Aelita told me it was Yumi's bodyguard who was going to be doing the killing that had really surprised me. She said to act normal though, and everything would work out. Then again…..why was I listening to Aelita anyway….she was a maid! A maid! But she felt so familiar, like I could tell her anything, and I could trust her with anything.'_

Jeremie sighed as he opened the door to the large room, jumping onto the bed, he quickly opened the laptop and began to see if he could find anything of use.

Night had descended quickly upon the small kingdom as the festivities of the night dance were about to begin. Most of the people had already arrived by the time that Yumi made her entrance, Ulrich right behind her. Yumi crossed her arms across her chest…having been rudely awoken once again by the woman who had wanted Yumi to try on her dress made her a very unhappy person.

"Princess, you are looking as beautiful as ever." Jeremie said as he made his way towards her. Yumi looked at him and gave him small smile, despite her grumpiness; she still remembered what her mother had told her. Then again….she didn't really look that bad…..her dress was black….duh….it was long and reached to the floor. It was spaghetti strap, and fit her figure perfectly. Her hair was tightly pulled into a bun and held in place using chopsticks.

"Thank you." Yumi said as she took the hand Jeremie offered as he led her out onto the dancing floor. Ulrich found an empty spot along the wall and leaned against it, watching the two dance. Seeing this scene take place just made him want to kill someone. He felt so jealous of Jeremie…but why? His thoughts came to a close as the song ended, and Yumi quickly departed from Jeremie and ran to greet someone at the food table. Ulrich turned and began to walk over, only to find Yumi talking to some guy with large pointy blonde hair….dang….he felt familiar too.

Aelita blended with the crowd as she passed through quickly looking around for Jeremie. Spotting him leaning against the wall watching Yumi talk to Odd, Aelita raced over to him. The feeling deep inside her chest had gotten far worse over the past few minutes….this was going to happen….and soon….

"Jeremie….I have a terrible feeling….." Aelita said as she came to a halt in front of him.

"Yah, I've got one too….but as for now….all seems quiet with Ulrich." Jeremie said as his gaze turned to where Ulrich was currently talking with Sissy…a bored expression was on his face.

Ulrich stared as Sissy just continued this girl understand the word No.

"Why cant you just take the time for one dance with me?" Sissy asked as she put on an innocent face in hopes Ulrich would say yes.

"I already told you that I'm working…..so I cant spare a minute of my precious time to dance with annoying person like you." With that, Ulrich returned to gazed at Yumi and Odd talk. An angry sound and the clicking of heals fading into the crowd told him that she had finally left. An evil grin formed along Ulrich's face as the bell began to chime eleven. Time for him to finish his real job.

Yumi looked up as the bell toll began to ring. Eleven, had she been talking to Odd for that long……guess so. Yumi raised her hand as she let out another yawn, looking over, she saw Odd raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you so tired? Normally you aren't this tired, what kept you up last night?" Odd asked as Yumi yawned once again.

"Nothing." Yumi looked up to see Odd not to satisfied with that answer, she continued on. "Don't worry about, I just had a little trouble sleeping last night, that's all."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it, but just remember that if you need something, you can come to me." Odd said reassuringly.

"Thanks Odd, you're the best friend a person could ask for." Yumi said as she embraced Odd in another hug.

Ulrich looked to the night sky through one of the large windows around the room. The moon seemed especially bright in the dark sky. Perfect. If he could lead Yumi outside, then her assassination would be only known to him and the night sky…..well….until they found her dead body anyway.

"Hey Yumi." Ulrich felt himself call her name as she turned to face him. Muttering a quick good-bye, Yumi made her way over to him.

"What?" Yumi asked, crossing her arms and staring at him.

"It's the perfect time to get a good look at the moon, which is really full by the way. Just thought I'd let you know." Ulrich said with a shrug. Yumi loved the stars and the moon, and Ulrich had found that out when he caught her looking at an astronomy book….and after finding out her schedule of study…that wasn't one of her classes, so obviously she was interested in the subject.

"Really?" Yumi, in all her excitement, grabbed Ulrich's arm and pulled them through the thick crowds and out through the doors and into the open night sky. In her excitement let go of Ulrich's arm to look closer into the sky. Ulrich watched in amusement as Yumi looked into the sky like a little child looking for a shooting star as she looked at the large moon. Well…time to finish this job and be on to bigger and better things.

Odd was busy filling the bottomless pit when Jeremie and Aelita approached him.

"Odd, we have to hurry!"

Odd turned around to see who was talking to him. With toast in one hand and an apple in the other one, he quickly saw Jeremie and Aelita coming closer. Well….this was a surprise…who knew the prince even knew who he was. Oh well….better see what he wanted….

"Good evening your highness, how are you doing this evening?" Odd asked with a polite bow.

"We don't have time for this…..Yumi's in trouble and needs our help now!" Aelita pleaded, knowing how desperate this situation was getting. Hearing that Yumi was in trouble, Odd quickly dropped his food and began to ask questions. Without answering, Aelita quickly took chase and began to swim through the crowd in hopes that Jeremie and Odd would follow her, she would need the entire gang to make this work.

The wind against Yumi's face reminded her that she needed to come back from cloud 9. She had gotten lost in looking at the moon and had forgotten that she'd been outside. Turning around Yumi saw the glint of Ulrich's sword against the bright moonlight. She hadn't sensed anything to be alarmed about, so why did he draw his sword…..freaky stuff was happening again!

"Hey Ulrich, what are you doing?" Yumi asked as she raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Finishing my real job." Was the only reply Yumi got. _'Finishing his real job?' _ Noticing Yumi's blank expression, he continued on. "Such blind innocence. I took this job to get as close as a possible to you so I could finish my real job….taking you out of the picture…for good."

Yumi felt her heart stop in her chest…no way….the nice, interesting, quiet person she had grown very fond of in only a few short days was here to kill her. Yumi moved her hand back behind her leg, lifting her dress up a little and felt for her knife. The knife….Odd had given it to her because he feared for her protection, well now was a good time to use it. Feeling her hand against it, she quickly closed her fingers around it, slowly pulling it out and hiding it behind her back.

"Well, its been fun princess….but the time has come for you to meet your maker." Ulrich took no time in putting his sword in fighting position and charging towards Yumi. As quickly as her mind would allow, Yumi brought out her knife and tried to fend off Ulrich's attack. Yumi let out a scream of pain as she felt her arm burn. Looking down, she spotted a long slash mark that was beginning to pour out crimson liquid. She quickly dropped her knife and clutched her arm in hopes to smother the pain and stop the bleeding.

Yumi looked up to see Ulrich smirking at her. Alright….now was not the time to stand up and fight to the death, now was the time to run. Looking around, she spotted the small woods that surrounded the east side of the palace; maybe if she could make it in there then she could loose him. Wasting no time, she quickly took off in a run, never looking back to see if Ulrich was even following her….but she knew he was, no doubt about it.

_Yah, so that's how I got where I am now. Sitting here….on the cold, wet, and muddy forest ground waiting for my death. Well….I might as well try and stop the bleeding of my arm…I felt for the bottom of my dress….ripping a long shred off. I began to wrap it tightly around the large cut, the blood instantly soaking the cloth. When I was satisfied I tied it and went back to thinking over my life, cause it was about to end and all. I didn't get to think much because I felt myself growing weak….. 'must be all the blood that I lost' That was my last thought as a passed out. _

Yumi had fallen back onto soft pile of fallen leaves. All the while, Ulrich had just begun to walk around the forest, thinking to himself. This felt so wrong….sure….it started out sounding good….but now that he'd gotten to know Yumi….he was having regrets. Was it too late to back out now? Most likely. Ulrich re-sheathed his sword and began to move branches out of his way in search for the princess.

"I don't see them anywhere. Where do you think they went Aelita?" Jeremie asked as he approached the pink haired girl, who was standing in front of the woods.

"There." Aelita said as she pointed into the dark woods. Once again, she took off without warning, causing Odd and Jeremie to follow her into the dark woods.

Ulrich had begun to walk even slower into the woods, searching everywhere for Yumi. A sudden snapping noise from under his foot caused him to stop, the sound of what he had stepped on wasn't a twig, so picking up his feet he stepped back and picked up the item. Looking closer at the small wooden….and now broken stick that lay in his hand he figured out just what exactly he was holding….one of Yumi's chopsticks…from her hair.

Looking around….he spotted broken branches, bent back as if someone had pushed them aside hurriedly. Walking foreword, Ulrich spotted Yumi's still form lying parallel to the dark ground. Ulrich's heart just wanted to reach out and find out if she was alright. He ached to do that….why? What his mind said didn't seem to matter anymore….just following his heart seemed to be what mattered. So doing exactly that….Ulrich raced over to Yumi's limp form.

Reaching out to touch her…it was like a wall in his mind collapsed. A remembrance of everything that had happened in his life had become clear….his normal life….his life with Jeremie, Odd, Aelita….and especially Yumi. Ulrich looked down on Yumi's battered form….had he really done this to her….her… the person he had fallen in love with and cared so deeply about.

"Oh Yumi….what have I done to you?" Ulrich asked weakly as he fell to his knees, gently pulling her into his arms.

"YUMI!"

Ulrich didn't even turn to look as he heard someone else call Yumi's name, he just listened to it echo through the vast emptiness of the tall trees. But the snapping of small twigs told him that the others had finally caught up to him. Hearing a small gasp closely behind him, he could tell they had arrived at last.

"Let her go you assassin scum."

'_Has to be Odd.' _Ulrich thought as he smiled a little, remembering Odd's position as a brother type to Yumi in the reality they had traveled from. Finally gathering enough courage, Ulrich stood, never once letting go of Yumi, and turned to face the others.

"Aelita? You're…..human…." Ulrich stood, shocked and stared at the girl before him. Aelita felt herself begin to tear up once again, Ulrich, he remembered….thank god. Aelita felt a sigh of relief escape her lips as she walked forward towards Ulrich. Jeremie and Odd just watched in silence…..weird things were happening again, but something deep inside of the two boys told them that interfering might result in dire consequences.

"Ulrich, thank god you've finally come to your senses, and not a moment too soon. X.A.N.A's behind all of this….and we need to get back to your time before things get worse, and permanent damage happens to Yumi." Aelita whispered as she came into Ulrich's listening range.

"But….how?" Ulrich asked as he shifted weight and changed the position in which Yumi lay in his arms. Silently, Ulrich watched as Aelita called Jeremie and Odd over to where she and him were standing.

"Aelita, what's going on? You don't actually trust him, do you?" Jeremie asked as he and Odd finally reached Ulrich and Aelita. Without answering, Aelita quickly pulled out a pendant that had been hidden under her dress. The pendant, which Ulrich noticed, was shaped in the Lyoko symbol, X.A.N.A.'s evil eye. The boys watched as Aelita fell to her knees, placing the pendant on the dark soil in front of her.

"Aelita…what are you…?" Ulrich didn't get to finish his question because Aelita's powerful singing voice cut him off. Ulrich and the others watched in amazement as a white light began to shot straight up out of the pendant and into the night sky. Soon enough it began expanding until it had engulfed the five heroes in its bright rays.

Suddenly, a pounding that could knock down a door was heard all around the light, that had acted as a shield. Looking around, Ulrich finally rested his gaze once again on Aelita, who had begun to rise.

"Aelita!" Ulrich yelled over the pounding. "What's going on."

"Its X.A.N.A., he's trying to break through the barrier and stop us." Aelita said as a translucent square popped up in front of her. Raising her hand, she quickly placed it in the center of this square, waiting until her name began to appear before she took it away. Soon after her name appeared, it disappeared, and the word CODE appeared, and not too late after, right underneath, the word Lyoko also appeared. Raising her head to the sky, Aelita began to shout.

"CODE: LYOKO! RETURN TO THE FUTURE NOW!"

Ulrich felt a familiar feeling of the past bubble enclose his body, as the rest became a blur in his mind………..

All was quiet…..except for the sound of a computer. Ulrich slowly opened his eyes, and waited for his vision to clear before trying to sit up. Looking around, Ulrich spotted Yumi,. Lying on the floor very close to him. Fighting the urge to blush because Yumi was so close he could feel her warm breath on his hand, he quickly looked around more, seeing Odd, also lying unconscious on the ground.

"The factory…" Ulrich said as he realized his surroundings….it had worked….they'd been returned to their own time. Shakily standing, Ulrich made his way to the elevator, climbed inside, and ascended to the main computer room, where he presumed Jeremie would be. Ulrich felt the familiar shutter as the elevator came to a quick stop, and the large doors opened. Walking cautiously out, Ulrich found Jeremie lying comfortably in his chair, turning; he found the elevator door had been closed once again behind him.

"Glad to see that you've finally awakened." A familiar girls voice said from behind him. Turning quickly, Ulrich saw Aelita leaning comfortably against the far wall.

"Aelita? But….how?" Ulrich asked in disbelief.

"When we returned to the future, I was materialized, just as the rest of you. However, I have found that it is not permanent….only temporary….I can still feel the virus deep inside. I can also feel that X.A.N.A. is furious you ruined his plans. He figured, with Yumi gone, everything would fall apart. His plan was to set the time travel device so far back that he could change everything in the future." Aelita said in return to Ulrich's question and even a little more as the silence began to fill the room once again.

"Well let's just count our blessings as the fact that the future X.A.N.A. wanted didn't come true." Ulrich said with a small smile as Jeremie's form began to stir.

"Keep it down Ulrich, I have a major headache." Jeremie said, just barely above a whisper and soon stopped complaining when Aelita came to his attention. Ulrich was about to say something, until the large elevator doors began to open once again, revealing both Odd and Yumi, holding onto each other for support.

"Yumi!" Ulrich said barely above a whisper as he ran to relieve Odd of her weight. Odd nodded silent thanks and sat outside the doorway of the elevator as it silently closed behind him. "Yumi, are you alright." Ulrich asked as he furiously began to check for injuries.

"Yes Ulrich, I'm fine you don't need to worry so much." Yumi said with a short laugh. She stopped laughing, however when she noticed that Ulrich was staring at her arm. Looking down, she noticed a scar. It had come from where Ulrich had sliced her arm in the past. Without a word, Ulrich quickly stood and began to leave, Yumi could see the hurt and pain in his eyes as he moved away from her. "Ulrich, its alright"

Ulrich shook his head, it wasn't alright, not to him, he had caused her that pain and that scar and nothing anyone did could ever make him forgive himself for that. Looking around he noticed everyone staring at him; the words they were speaking meant nothing to him. Without a word he quickly left, leaving the others in silence.

"What should we do"? Jeremie asked as he mimicked Odd's exact thoughts and was the first to break the silence.

"Nothing." Yumi said as she stood. "Just leave him alone, I'll go talk to him." With that, she also left without another word. After giving her a few minute head start, Aelita and the boys also made their way from the factory to the word above. Which was still in the dark of night, just as they had left it what seemed like forever ago.

Yumi fell silently onto her bed; she hadn't said a word to her parents before she locked herself in her room. The tears that had been silent at the factory now became present. That scar wasn't his fault, couldn't he see that? It was X.A.N.A. and even in the real world what he had done in the past was truly breaking them apart. The rest of Yumi's thoughts began to blur together as she fell into a dreamless sleep.

The school bell rang loudly throughout the courtyard as it often did every morning. Yumi quickly raced to class, forgetting to stop at her locker completely as she raced to her seat before her teacher noticed. Her alarm had rang many times, but that was the excuse she used to say why she was late.

The day progressed and it all seemed normal, that was until Yumi got to lunch. Looking around for her friends she only found Jeremie and Odd. She sat down silently beside them and didn't bother to ask where Ulrich was; it was easy to tell that he didn't want to be around her. The gang didn't seem to have much to talk about since Ulrich was gone so lunch seemed to drag on. After lunch the day began to drag on and ended with silence as Yumi walked to the dorm rooms to find Ulrich.

Walking up she knocked on the door and waited for a response. When no one answered she pulled out her key ring and opened the door. Looking around she found a note on Odd's bed. Picking it up she noticed it was Ulrich's handwriting.

'_Odd, I'm at the mall at my normal spot, don't worry; I'll be back later on before Jim finds me gone. Ulrich.'_

Yumi folded the note back up and put it back on Odd's bed. She walked out of the room and made sure that the door was closed, and then raced out into the courtyard and down the street. The mall was only a few blocks down the street. She walked into the large place and began to look for Ulrich. After a few minutes of searching all their favorite places she quickly came to the arcade. From inside she heard a pumping beat for a machine that many people had gathered around. Pushing her way to the front she quickly found that Ulrich was the center of attention. Looking up she quickly found that he was playing Dance Dance Revolution Max 2. Their favorite game.

The song quickly ended and everyone applauded, seeking her chance because a new game was just about to start she quickly jumped on the second mat and put her money in the machine. Ulrich looked over quickly to see whom it was that he was playing against.

"Yumi." Ulrich said with a slight but of surprise in his voice.

"Hi Ulrich, we need to talk." Yumi said as she quickly picked her level of difficulty and the song menu came up. Scrolling through she quickly picked an old favorite, candy and selected. The upbeat of the song got them moving quickly. "Ulrich, you know that what happened isn't you fault, it was X.A.N.A. and I blame nothing on you."

"Doesn't mean the I still don't feel awful for doing it." Ulrich said quickly as he was taking a breath.

"Well don't, all this fighting is tearing us apart, what happened in the past is unchangeable, we need to try and work to the future." Yumi said as the song came to a quick end. Ulrich's turn to pick, scrolling down he picked drop the bomb and the song began to play. This song continued in silence as the two finished out the song and the match without saying a word. When it was over, Ulrich was quick to try and get away, but Yumi grabbed his arm.

"Let me go Yumi." Ulrich said with a quick jerk of his arm. It was enough to surprise Yumi into letting him go. Looking up he saw a shine on Yumi's face. Tears. Yumi never cried, not for anything.

"Then go Ulrich, but please listen to what I have to say." Yumi said as she looked up and locked onto his gaze. "This past day has been murder on me. To know that you wont come around me and are avoiding me is tearing me up on the inside. I wanted to say this for a long time, but I've never found a good enough reason. But I've discovered something Ulrich. How much I love you, and I realized this because you not being around hurts me so much. Just thought I'd let you know that." With that said, Yumi turned and began to leave. She suddenly felt something grab her arm and stop her. Turning around she found Ulrich holding onto her arm and staring at the ground.

"I'm sorry I hurt you Yumi. Truth is, I love you too. And because I was the one to hurt you, it hurt me so bad. So I thought that maybe if I left then there wouldn't be any way for me to hurt you. Guess I was wrong." Ulrich looked up when he felt Yumi wrap her arms around him.

It only happened for an instant when they kissed, but that was enough for them. Spectators around them had no idea what a magical moment they had just witnessed. Yumi felt Ulrich slip his hand into hers as they began to walk back to the school. The moment was broken however when Yumi's cell phone began to buzz. It was her parents. With a quick explanation she quickly hung up the phone. Looking up she realized they were at the school grounds.

"Guess this is where I say goodnight." Yumi said with a smile as she looked at Ulrich.

"Guess so." Ulrich said as he also turned to look at her. It was another moment in time that one could never forget as they met once again for the final kiss until the next time they saw each other. Ulrich waved his goodbye as Yumi walked back to her own house just a few blocks away.

Walking back to his dorm, he quickly stopped at Jeremie's room where he found Odd and Jeremie talking to Aelita on the computer. Ulrich realized he hadn't said goodbye to her before they had to send her back early this morning.

"Looks like Romeo finally got together with Juliet." Odd said with a laugh as Ulrich's face turned red. "We saw the whole thing from up here."

"Why don't you take a seat Ulrich, and tell us all about it." Jeremie said as he turned his chair around and Ulrich sat on his bed.

So that's how this adventure ended as Ulrich began to tell of his tale. The adventures of the past were placed to rest as the future continued for our hero's.

OMG…. this story took forever to finish. I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to put something else up. I've been having some problems lately…so that's why it's taking so long. Well I hope you liked it, a few of my friends helped me in some spots…it was a little confusing I know it was. But I hope everything got cleared up. Leave me a nice review and tell me what you thought. I love hearing from you. So whether you thought it sucked or it was awesome, let me know! You guys are the best and thanks so much for sticking with me!

While writing this story, I've encountered…..sexy cabbage patch fish, who like to swim in sprinklers while picking up sexy hitch hikers who are picking pansies and like to shake their butts……welcome to my fun at band camp….. teaching my friend the improved version of the band dance.

Love you all so much!

Michiko

PS, the flashbacks might not be perfect, I had them all thought out, but then I started writing some more and forgot completely what they were supposed to be, so I hope they worked out ok.


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